Uncapped with no proxy? Who wants?

[random_seed]

Hi all,

Who wants an uncapped ADSL solution which doesn't go through SAIX, has no port shaping and can have a static IP address?

Keep it in mind that the only way ISP's can offer true broadband is if Telkom reduces the cost of its leased lines and international lines. The international peering is the cheap part.

I might have a solution for you guys, but the things is how much do you want to spend?

R_S

R_S

 

[antowan]

Can this be Telkom doing undercover MARKET RESEARCH??? I am willing to spend no more than R300 a month...

Cheers
Antowan

### What we need in South Africa is cheap 24/7, always on Internet for under R300 a month. ###

 

[BTTB]

R299.99 Including rental.

<b><hr noshade size="1"></b><font size="2"><font color="red"><b>You can take Telkom out of the Post Office but you can't take the Post Office out of Telkom.</b></font id="red"></font id="size2">

 

[reech]

Sounds just like standard ADSL to me, but then I'm not in ZA.

 

[Lourens]

Count me in for R300.00 all inclusive!

 

[Sneeky]

I'm in and I think every other adsl user would be to.

 

[random_seed]

Thanks for the replies... No I am not with Hellkom!!!

Now realistically what is the price we would have to pay in SA to achieve such a service? The answer is LOTS! It costs around R 6000 for 1:1 64k international bandwidth and around R 2000 for 64k local unless there are peering agreements. An ISP will pay around R 600 per 64k just for the leased line rental. Thats a hell of a lot for one user to pay, so that is why there are such high contenion ratios. The only way for ISP's to offer true broadband is if Telkom reduces the cost of its leased lines and international lines. Who knows if or when it will happen... all we can do is work with what we've got...

I have researched all possiblilities and the only way we can do it is with numbers. To start off with, the speed might be average, but when the numbers increase so will the speeds increase due to the ratios and internet usage patterns.

To have ADSL users connect to our local network, comes at a premium. With a contention ratio of 32:1 we can offer 256k ADSL which runs on 256k national and 256k international giving a guarantee of 16kb for both and of course UNCAPPED. For the 512k version a contention ratio of 32:1 with 512k national and 512k international with a guarantee of 32kb. The speed should be pretty good by splitting the national and international segments and we can also burst users if the network is quiet. Prices are unofficial starting at R 1200 to R 3600 with higher guarantees available. This would be available country wide. You would only have to change your username and password but you would still have to pay telkom for the adsl line rental .

Guess what, Telkom have a contention ratio of at least 100:1 and even though Sentech say theirs is 30:1 it is actually around 50:1...

The static IP option will give users the ability to host their own mail servers or applications without having to worry about dynamic dns or port shaping...

What do you guys think?

 

[martin]

There might be a market for small businesses but I reckon it's too expensive for individuals.

 

[random_seed]

Yeah, thats what I figured, but I will keep on trying to get the prices down... There is still hope...

R_S

 

[mbs]

If you could look at pricing models designed to bring the average monthly cost down to levels comparable to the Telkrap offering, perhaps through cross-subsidy of different market segments (business versus residential), or extended payment plans over a contractual period, or bulk purchases of bandwidth from a local provider, or non-intrusive carriage of revenue-generating data (if technically feasible and permissable to end-users), and so on, this would go a long way to ensuring that all current ADSL users would jump ship...

 

[random_seed]

Yeah, have been looking at that. Something like business priority during the day and residential during the evening and on weekends... Maybe a portal or community type site could draw some income to subsidize the service...

Anymore ideas?

 

[random_seed]

If the users could be involved in something which draws income to this as a community service, I think it would really work...

 

[mbs]

Here's a thought - pure virtual business with no bricks-and-mortar presence would be highly supportive of the service, and would be interested in subsidising it to some extent, if there were a guaranteed return on the subsidy. Packaging the virtual business offering with the service would help - I'm thinking here of the mechanism used by ABSA to generate an almost overnight user base, and a multitude of new banking accounts. I'm pretty sure a crowd like 20Twenty would listen very carefully to you...

 

[martin]

Ahh, not a bad idea mbs. You a member of 20twenty? If there's one crowd with the courage to do this it's 20twenty.

 

[Cloud]

and so the pot begins to simmer...

 

[random_seed]

Ok, I will contact them with a business plan... Still, it is quite a margin they would have to make up... I don't think their bank charges could cover much, but they would be able to gain in terms of exposure and new signups. If people were to keep a certain amount of money in their accounts a percentage of the interest could go towards the service...

R_S

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Maybe your uncapped ADSl for home users should be between R700-R800

 

[Sneeky]

Ive always wondered something.
Pick n Pay has always gone out of its way to give the best deals to the public.
Anyone remember a few years ago when Pick n Pay started selling petrol and diesel at 'their' price, much to the dismay of the government.
I reckon if there is a good enough idea around that is put together in a good business plan Uncle Raymond (Ackermann) might be keen to ruffle a few feathers.
Some might say that they aint into the communication business, but they certainly were not in the oil business either hehe.
/ file save

 

[Cloud]

lol, MyPick&Pay

 

[mbs]

MARTIN: nope, don't use 20Twenty's services, as I'm somewhat committed to my current bank and am loyal, given their help to me over the years...

SNEEKY: yup, Raymond Ackerman had the right idea, but he was silly in adopting a confrontational approach to Government and the highly-regulated oil industry at the time, never-mind his good intentions towards the average consumer motorist - which, it subsequently transpired, was not his real intention. He regarded it as a justifiable marketing expense to sacrifice a half-a-cent per litre on petrol, to draw additional traffic to his supermarkets. I happen to know this, having worked in the oil industry at the time. His shortcoming was that he didn't pose his actions as a genuine societal benefit or economic stimulus in a cooperative manner with the support of Government and SAPIOR, so he ultimately crashed and burned...

RANDOM_SEED: Don't latch onto 20Twenty only - FNB are currently saying very loudly that 'we're here to help you', and you should also consider other players, not just banks. For example, I see no reason why other telecomms players may not be interested, or a government agency with the need to have a national footprint, or even venture capitalists with money to invest. It all depends on the numbers in the business plan, and the technical and regulatory implications...